Review: Dragonball Evolution and Knowing

Hello again blogsphere,

I know I said that I'd do a full review on Dragonball Evolution last I was here, but let's be honest, do I really have to tell anyone how that movie is? I mean it's Dragonball Evolution. Seriously reviewing the movie is like picking on a quadriplegic baby with spina bifida. If you've seen the trailers, you know what to expect when and if you choose to see it. Just have a sense of humor about it, and you can enjoy it. Trust me, there are no surprises in this movie.

I'm leaving it at that.

Knowing on the other hand was surprising to me. I'm pretty conflicted with it at that, because I don't know what I can say about it. The only reason I decided to take a look at it was because Alex Proyas directed it (I'm a fan of The Crow and Dark City, what can I say), and although I was entertained on multiple levels, I don't know how to feel about it.

Knowing's premise is that of a recently widowed MIT professor and his son trying to move on from his wife's death. The father is more logic minded, while the son seems to hold more to a faith based view, which was played off interestingly through the movie. What changes their situation, is the fact that the son comes to own a letter written 50 years ago and stored in a time capsule. The letter appears to be simply numbers scrawled across a piece of paper, and yet the father discovers it to be much more. The letter foretells all the days of human tragedy of to come from 50 years to the date of the letter, down to the number of people killed each day. The father takes it upon himself to discover if the letter could actually be accurate, and if so, exactly what it's purpose is.

This movie has quite a few strong points, and a well put together premise, but the shortcomings of it are nearly the exact proportions. The visual effects aren't all that great, but they get the job done. The film's pacing is spot on, but the characters seem to lose themselves as the movie goes on. That and there is a bit of malechavanism that arises through the course of the film, and that's bothersome to me. On the otherhand though, the ideas presented are nice, and keep you guessing where the movie is going to end up. Where it ends up though is a bit questionable to me though...

Even though overall I don't see this as a good movie, I still can't say that I didn't enjoy it, even though the glaring flaws of it are hard to ignore. Maybe it's just the fan in me that won't allow me to completely bash it (I actually did loathe the ending), but I can't disregard the high points either leaving me at a crux. I'm going to just go ahead and say avoid this movie in the theaters to be safe, but it could be fun for a movie night...maybe?